The Wine Widow and the landrover
27th January 2022
Not everybody loves the newly pimped landrover that our old neighbour Robert has transformed from a beaten up lightweight, short-wheelbase, Series III into an idiosyncratic mobile bar. But Zam does. When his sister Rose asked to borrow it, freshly painted and ready to go he was delighted to share the joy. She rang 20 minutes later having broken down going up a hill and was now taking shelter at the nearest house. The occupants of this looked amused but not particularly surprised. “They all have their little ticks” the farmer and Zam agreed fondly.
“They all have their little ticks”
In order to prove that it just takes a bit of this (pump the brakes), and that (change gear at exactly the right moment and lean forward), Zam drove it home.
He booked himself and it into various Christmas fairs but got Covid and so asked genius winemaker Harry to take it to Wiltshire. The landrover averages about 35 mph. The tailback on the A303 became considerable. The wind and cold whistled round Harry’s head. The brakes were hair-raising. He didn’t want to drive it back again. When Zam recovered he went to collect it and arrived home pale and chastened. The “quirks” were, he now admitted, considerable. It went into the local garage for remedial attention and now it’s back. As a bar it’s rather wonderful. As transport… he’s on his own.
